Preview weirdness on dual monitor

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  1. Posts : 7
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #1

    Preview weirdness on dual monitor


    Hey guys,

    I've got something really weird and quite annoying. But first some details:
    i7-2600k
    8GB corsair
    Asus 580GTX DC-II
    Dell Ultrasharp 2407
    Samsung SyncMaster 2343

    The problem I have is that Windows Preview shows a yellow picture on the Samsung. on the Dell it shows correct with a white background.

    The 2 monitors are nearly identical in color display. The Dell is a little brighter with better contrast.

    So to explain, when I drag the preview window over to the other monitor, its colored yellow. Just the contents, not the title bar or other dialog features.

    When I make a screenshot, the part on the 2nd monitor is yellow when the screenshot is displayed on the Dell monitor so its definitely not my monitor displaying it yellow. The preview window simply renders its contents yellow on the second monitor and I can't figure out why this is.

    Also, this has been happening for a while now. i've reinstalled windows 7 (x64 ultimate) several times already. I't always been like this.

    Second also, I've calibrated the Dell monitor with i1display 2 calibrator. Since I can't have 2 color profiles with this videocard I had to calibrate the Samsung manually with the monitor controls, hence why the I mention the color display is nearly identical on both monitors.

    Final note, its been happening with 3 videocards; my first card MSI 295GTX, ATI 6950 and recently purchased 580GTX.

    If anyone has any idea why this is happening and how to solve it I'd owe you a beer!

    Last edited by inflatablemouse; 05 Oct 2011 at 09:05. Reason: added screenshot link
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  2. Posts : 1,777
    MS Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit (Family Pack Lic.) Upgrade
       #2

    if everything you described is 100% factual, i can't see a possible route to the problem to occur.

    unless somehow one is using internal filtering/color compinsation in addition to the windows standard, and they're somehow combining additively. just a shot in the dark aginst the wind...

    I want to hear what it is if you figure it out, please!

    sincerely,
    mike
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 797
    Windows 7 Ultimate (x64)
       #3

    what happens if you exchange the monitors, I mean take the cord from the Dell and plug it into the Samsung and vice versa?
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  4. Posts : 1,777
    MS Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit (Family Pack Lic.) Upgrade
       #4

    good question, all he said was:

    ...when I drag the preview window over to the other monitor, its colored yellow. Just the contents, not the title bar or other dialog features.

    When I make a screenshot, the part on the 2nd monitor is yellow when the screenshot is displayed on the Dell monitor so its definitely not my monitor displaying it yellow. The preview window simply renders its contents yellow on the second monitor and I can't figure out why this is.
    which is eather 2 seperate problems, unlikely (I'll cite Occumz's Razor) but i cant imagine merely moving a window to the moniter would almost seem to spray a myst of yellow all over it!?

    hats off unifex,
    mike
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 7
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
    Thread Starter
       #5

    rubyrubyroo said:
    ... but i cant imagine merely moving a window to the moniter would almost seem to spray a myst of yellow all over it!?
    That's exactly how it is.

    Windows 7 Preview Weirdness - YouTube

    I swapped the cables, no difference. The Samsung is still coloring yellow.

    The *only* thing I can think of is that Preview is using some kind of Color Profile that doesn't work well with the Samsung for whatever reason. Browsing the color profiles doesn't make me a wiser man though, that just makes me dizzy.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 2,752
    Windows 7 Pro x64 (1), Win7 Pro X64 (2)
       #6

    inflatablemouse said:
    Second also, I've calibrated the Dell monitor with i1display 2 calibrator. Since I can't have 2 color profiles with this videocard I had to calibrate the Samsung manually with the monitor controls, hence why the I mention the color display is nearly identical on both monitors.
    I suspect this is the root of your problem. If you had two video cards, and each monitor attached separately so that you could have two color profiles, you might have success. But using one video card, two monitors each of which has different color characteristics, I think you're doomed.

    Have you tried completely eliminating the color profile for the Dell, and then just manually adjusting BOTH monitors so that they look the same?

    I have a similar issue, with a single ATI HD4850 video card driving two very different monitors: (1) Eizo HD2441W LCD (16x9) and (2) IBM P275 CRT (4:3). I also gave "calibration" a shot with an Eye2 calibrator on my Eizo, but probably didn't do the right thing. I didn't like the way it looked (too "warm" with reddish yellowish instead of white, and I was used to "cool" with true white/blue in pictures).

    Anyway, I eliminated all "interference" from the calibration color profiles and just manually adjusted both the Eizo and IBM monitors to be pretty much factory default plus just a bit of brightness/contrast adjustment. Colors on both are compatible, and I don't have your issue.


    Of course... I also don't use Photo Viewer for looking at pictures. I use ACDSee, and work on them with Photoshop.

    Photo Viewer is an extremely "low-end" image display program, and has known issues on lots of items (e.g. it distorts aspect ratio horribly if your HxW is a bit abnormal). I wouldn't be completely surprised if Photo Viewer itself is also partially responsible for your symptom. Do you have another image viewer (even a free one that's apparently highly regarded by other users though I can't swear to it, such as IrfanView) you can try? Same results? Or not?

    Do you have the same symptom when using an image viewer other than Windows Photo Viewer? What about something simple, like dragging a browser window (say on a generic web site like CNN or Huffington Post, both of which have lots of pure white background), so that it sits partially across both screens. Does the pure white in those browser pages look white on both screens, or again yellow?
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  7. Posts : 2,752
    Windows 7 Pro x64 (1), Win7 Pro X64 (2)
       #7

    Just took a look at your very informative video.

    I see that when you dragged a Windows Explorer window (with its white background) across to the other monitor, you did NOT see a white-to-yellow color transformation. The white background remained white.

    This now supports my suspicion that once again, for yet another problem, it appears to be Windows Photo Viewer which is really the lowest-end of image viewer software products. I'm guessing it is ENTIRELY because of using Photo Viewer for your image viewing needs that you see this problem... which is apparently confined to only the Photo Viewer window and not other windows from other programs.

    I suspect that if you try dragging a web browser window across screens (like you did with your Windows Explorer window) that white will again remain white, double-confirming the villain/culprit as Windows Photo Viewer and Microsoft.


    ==>> try IrfanView, or ACDSee, or some other high-end image viewer product. I don't think you'll see this yellowing artifact.
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  8. Posts : 1,777
    MS Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit (Family Pack Lic.) Upgrade
       #8

    a screen capture app SHOULD act like that (including the screen(s) color profile in its algorithm) since it is designed to capture the DISPLAY as-you-see-it. But an Image Viewer app should be using the same color profile to display an image that appears to be the same color to the human eye when it is displayed on the paticular monitor. So If a screen cap was made similarly to the original image in this thread (yellow/white) across the two color profiles, lets say the white is to the left & yellow to the right, then the resultant image was rotated 90 degrees CW (now yellow @ bottom) and displayed across the two screens oriented the same way, the image should be a set of 4 squares. Now, assuming the white screen is the "good one" and not just being compensated for to look like it is, then the top left should still be the same colors pixel-per-pixel, the "correct colors", while the bottom right should be treated with this "yellowing" abnormality with twice the strength as it normally would be just from showing it on the yellow monitor. This way you can use a white (0x000000) image to easily calculate the change being made numerically (in this case it would be the second order since it was treated twice. The other two squares (top right & bottom left) should be compared for a control*, and if they are equal in value then used to give the first order equation. even with just two samples like this you can see if its a linear or exponential relationship and the color profiles can be adjusted using the same numerical offset algorithm to give matching profiles (assuming the monitors are within the range of possibility, or better put "there's not one much more BAD at displaying colors due to age or quality or display type."

    confusing but should work if you are interested, and can manipulate color profiles correctly.

    * the controls merely consist of single treatments by each color profile, differing only by the order of treatment (white capture displayed on yellow screen (top left) and a yellow capture displayed on the white screen. While they should agree I believe - this entire thread points out the fact that just because you think you have taken every variable into consideration, no one ever really is ever certian of this)

    thanks for the insight
    mike
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 2,752
    Windows 7 Pro x64 (1), Win7 Pro X64 (2)
       #9

    rubyrubyroo said:
    ...I'll cite Occumz's Razor
    Not to be picky, but just to be correct it's actually spelled "Occam's Razor":

    The most useful statement of the principle for scientists is: "when you have two competing theories that make exactly the same predictions, the simpler one is the better."
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  10. Posts : 24,479
    Windows 7 Ultimate X64 SP1
       #10

    The problem is an issue between Microsoft/Samsung. Hang on I'll get what is probably the solution. Photo Viewer is not the culprit, I've had the same problem before.


    EDIT: Go to Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Color Management\advanced tab\Device profile. On the drop-down menu scroll to the "sRGB IEC61966-2.1" profile and select it. Go back to the Devices tab under ICC Profiles and click Add, in the Associate Color Profile window, scroll to the "sRGB IEC61966-2.1" profile, click it then OK. Now it should be listed under the ICC Profiles, again click it then Set as Default Profile. Check the Use my Settings for This Device, close and check your Photo viewer. (I hope the snip below isn't confusing.)
    Preview weirdness on dual monitor-color-adv.png
    Last edited by Britton30; 06 Oct 2011 at 21:20.
      My Computer


 
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